Consequences
by Ruth06
Summary: When a young single girl finds herself trapped by unfortunate cirumstances she feels unable to carry on. But exactly how did she reach this situation? could it have been prevented? read on...


Cassandra Charring stood watching her reflection in an antique cheval mirror that stood by a large bay window. The sun dazzled off the small jewels that were encrusted around its silver frame. She pulled her wavy hair up back off her face to reveal her pale, sallow complexion which was illuminated by the light. Her dark brown eyes appeared red and swollen, as she winced with the brightness of the sunlight. Standing to the side she tugged at the hemline of the creased shell-pink chemise she was wearing. The more she pulled at the cream lacy hem, the more the satin resisted to lie flat over her newly protruding stomach.  
She pressed gently against the satin and for a brief moment her figure returned to what appeared to be normal, yet as she released her hand the curve of her stomach immediately returned. She stared at her reflection and the image became blurred, as tears began to fill in her eyes. She winced as rays of light hit off the jewelled frame and reflected a hot pink daze over her eyes. The shot of colour knocked her off balance and she hit the hard wooden floor beneath her feet. She lay shivering unable to move, exhausted and exasperated. In the distance she could hear the ring of her telephone, which echoed up towards the room…

…stepping out of the shower, she heard the phone ringing in the hallway. Naked and soaking wet she ran through her bedroom, skidding as she grabbed her silk dressing gown that was lain strewed over a white wicker chair. Her hair slapped her cheek and stuck soaking to her neck as she grabbed the receiver.  
'Hello…' Her high pitched voice faltered slightly when she heard who was the other end of the line, 'oh James its you…of course yes, yes I know…actually I'm a little busy this evening, can we make it tomorrow?…yes I know, but I haven't managed to…yes but…' she twisted the phone cord impatiently between her newly painted nails and stared at the track of small wet footprints, which were evaporating with the heat of the radiators. 'Absolutely James, absolutely. Listen, I have to dash there is someone at the door…yes definitely tomorrow…' she hung up before the conversation was over.  
Walking back towards her room, she pulled her hair off her neck and shook the, now drenched, dressing gown from round her back and shoulders so it hung down loosely, leaving her almost bare on the upper part of her body.

After drying, and spending a considerable amount of time on choosing suitable underwear, she slipped into the olive green chiffon dress which had spent the day hanging above her jewellery strewn dresser.   
Checking the clock, which had been hidden by a large glass of rose wine that was now almost empty, she saw it was quarter to seven and she had only fifteen minutes before the taxi arrived. Loosely pining her tousled hair back up off her face, she knew she showed off her fresh, rosy complexion to its best advantage. Then, taking an ornate silver comb off the white dresser she fixed it into one side of her raven hair, creating a striking contrast in colour.  
After finishing her makeup, adding an extra coat of lip-gloss and slipping on a pair of brown peep-toed heels, she stood back to admired herself full view in her newly bought cheval mirror. She twirled, running ripples of the soft chiffon skirt through her fingers, almost elated with her ensemble.  
Glancing at the clock she saw it was almost time to leave. She drank the dregs of the wine and took a black suede trench coat that had been chucked over the blue and gold daybed, in the bay window. She heard a car horn from outside and, knowing it was the taxi, grabbed the clutch bag from her bed. Almost through the bedroom door she paused and turned back. She walked quickly over to a small photo-frame on the dresser. Inside a black and white, worn picture of a handsome young man smiled, she bent over and kissed the picture lightly, leaving a trace of rouge lip-gloss on the glass cover. 'Wish me luck' she spoke faintly. Again the taxi horn beeped impatiently, so turning, she quickly left the room shutting the door behind herself.


End file.
